Wisha Wozzariter
Wisha Wozzariter.
Say it aloud.
Wisha Wozzariter was what pushed me to launch this reading programme!
Several parents have called to ask if my online creative writing programme is suited to children who want to begin the process of writing. The answer is ‘no’ because, for the most part, the children who enroll already enjoy writing. They write regularly and don’t find written assignments a chore. For children who don’t already write, the course could be daunting, and the last thing I want to do is to put children off writing altogether!
So I wanted something that would introduce creative writing in smaller, more accessible chunks. And just as I was thinking about it, I came across Wisha Wozzariter.
Wisha wants to be a writer. When she reads a book she loves – like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – she thinks, “Now that’s a book I could have written.”
Enter Bookworm, who asks the all-important question – “Well, then, why don’t you?”
And so, a wonderful journey begins, a journey that takes Wisha to the Marketplace of Ideas, the Superhero Salon and the Bargain Bazaar. With Wisha, we explore protagonists and antagonists, form, structure, style and inspiration. If this isn’t the ideal book to introduce creative writing, I don’t know what is!
Elements of a Story
What goes into the writing of a story? Wisha wishes she was a writer. What stops her?
We’ll read this book slowly, talking about the imagination that went into the writing of the story and the ways in which these ideas are linked to our own journeys as writers. Can we have a story without a villain? What do we mean by form? When do we need to flesh out a story and when do we need to cut it down?
What if...?
What if is one of the best ways to begin a story, especially when you’re stuck for ideas. A popular way of looking at many of Disney’s movies is with the question ‘what if’. What if cars had feelings? What if toys had feelings? What if feelings had feelings?
Each of these questions became a movie!
With Wisha Wozzariter, we’ll discuss a few more ‘what if’ questions. What if your protagonist was a mouse? What if you were all alone in an imaginary world? I look forward to seeing where these questions take us!
Write a Story
Since this is the last book we will be reading together, we will work on the actual writing process too. It’s easy to have ideas.
It’s a little less easy to jot these down.
The most challenging is to get these ideas together and write the first draft of a story. Let’s see what we can achieve together!
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The Absent Author
The Absent Author. The Bald Bandit. The Haunted Hotel. The Zombie Zone. Isn’t this the kind of series you could see any child longing to collect?
Book series are special and that’s why, for each reading programme, I try to introduce at least one. They’re sure shot ways of getting children hooked to reading! During my first reading programme, I introduced the hOle books with Trouble with Magic. During the second, it was the Amelia Bedelia series. Now, it’s the A to Z Mysteries.
Dink invites his favourite author, Wallis Wallace, to Green Lawn, and joy of joys! He receives a note from the author accepting the invitation! Unless he’s kidnapped, Wallis Wallace promises to come to the Book Nook and meet Dink and his friends. When he doesn’t show up, Dink has a mystery on his hands – the mystery of the absent author!
Meticulously, Dink, Josh and Ruth go through Wallis Wallace’s itinerary, trying to figure out when exactly the author was kidnapped. Step by step, they examine clues and investigate. Where could Wallis Wallace be?
Puzzles
Solving a puzzle is among the most satisfying things in the world. Isn’t that what draws us to detective stories? All the clues are right there in front of our eyes.
Dink, Josh and Ruth solve the mystery of the absent author in a simple, systematic way. We’ll do a puzzle or two too – a jigsaw puzzle, a simple logic puzzle and a word puzzle!
Journaling
The three young detectives solve the mystery successfully because they have with them a detailed itinerary that Wallis Wallace was supposed to follow. This is the perfect prompt to get children to write about their own days. How do they spend their days? I’ll be giving them a template that they can fill in and send back to me. Journaling is a lovely way to be more attentive, and to start the process of writing for fun.
Setting up a club
As a child, I read so many books by Enid Blyton that I set up more clubs than I could count. I even set up clubs where I was the sole member so that I could have meetings with myself! Dink, Josh and Ruth are a gang of detective kids much like the ones I read about as a child. As we’re reading the book together at a book club, let’s have fun! We’ll think of a name for the club, perhaps make badges. I can’t wait to see what the children come up with!
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Playing with Kangaroo Words
When I wrote about using Friends Behind Walls for my online reading programme, the first thing I thought of doing was playing with words. Putti loves breaking words up to make sense of them. Brouhaha = brew+haha, but has nothing to do with brewing tea or being funny.
Yesterday, we thought of words like this. We thought of ‘unfortunately’ and ‘perspective’, as we hunted for humorous ideas.
“Is ‘guin’ a word?” one child asked me. Of course he wanted to do something with what a penguin is not.
One idea led to another and we came to kangaroo words. I’m not good at coming up with these, but I love the idea! A kangaroo word is one that carries a synonym of itself in the word.
We discussed just a handful in class – masculine contains the word male, blossom contains the word bloom, chicken contains the word hen. “I know this is difficult,” I told the children, “but see if you can think of another kangaroo word for yourself!
All the while, I could think of not one word myself.
By the end of class, an eight-year-old piped up, “Miss, miss! I thought of one! Instructor! It contains the word tutor!”
Do you see why I love my reading programme so much?
I did read up about kangaroo words before I conducted this session. If you’d like to discover more words, here are two sites I visited:
Flying with Grandpa
I read Flying with Grandpa some time ago and enjoyed it. I wanted to read it with children, but had not yet figured out how. The book is slightly difficult for ages seven and eight, the age-group I was working with.
When parents started asking me about writing programmes for readers who are reluctant writers, the seed of an idea took root. A reading programme with smaller elements of creative writing would be perfect – and there! I had the perfect setup to read Flying with Grandpa!
Xerxes wants to be like his grandfather, his beloved Mamavaji, but his mother has other plans for him. She wants him to be like JRD Tata. She is fierce and determined, pushing Xerxes to do things the correct way all the time.
But his strict mother is just one of Xerxes’s problems. His classmates tease him, calling him ‘Xerox, Xerox’. When his Navjote approaches, they make up a rhyme about not caring a jot about his Nav Jot.
What can Xerxes do to be happy? He doesn’t feel like he belongs with the others in his class. His mother is stern and proper, and he can’t even spell her profession. He just wants to be with his grandpa, who, his mother says, is a bad influence. Can he make sure that he isn’t separated from his Mamavaji? How?
Working with Diverse Characters
Recently, I was asked to judge a creative writing competition. I read 16 stories in all, and in four of them, the lead character was called Mary. I also encountered Brenda, Julian, Olivia and Andrew. For the most part, the stories with Indian settings had a clear moral and a fable-like writing style.
I’ve written before about why this happens, but first, it comes down to what children read. If entertaining stories are overwhelmingly about Laura and James, those are the characters that find their way into what we write. The more we read about diverse characters, the likelier we are to write about them.
A book like Flying with Grandpa is a wonderful place to begin a conversation about diversity and then go on to creating a unique character without a whitewashed identity.
Write What You Know (And Research What You Don't)
‘Write what you know’ is one of the basic tenets of writing, and it’s important to discuss this with children who set out on their writing journeys. I’ve had children set their stories in Pennsylvania, only to spell it Pencilvania (without trying to be humorous). I’ve had stories about boys called Margaret living in Italy. Fantasy is great, imagined worlds are wonderful, but when we’re writing, we need to be aware of how we use characters that have backgrounds unfamiliar to us. Similarly, when we create the setting, if we want it to come alive, we need to begin with something believable – and not set a story in Zaire, South America. (I’m not making this up.)
Book Discussion
Everything about the reading programme isn’t about writing. I want there to be space for the participants to discuss anything the book freely. Participant-led sessions are wonderful because they lead to so many conversations about what we like and dislike, as well as what we think about literature in general. I want to have fun with the book too, creating alternative endings, and using the pictures in the book as writing prompts.
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The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula
The first edition of my online reading programme for ages 9 and 10 is here! For a while, I’ve had queries from parents about children who love reading but don’t know how to get started on their writing journeys. They want to write, but they don’t know what to do or how to go about it. I began mulling over it. Would a writing workshop help? Perhaps it would, but I felt that beginning on familiar ground – reading – would work better. And so, here it is – my first reading programme for this age-group.
What better way to begin than with a book by Asha Nehemiah? I began my first reading programme for younger children with her Trouble with Magic, and we loved it. The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula is similar in so many ways, but still entirely different.
Someone is trying to steal Malu Paati’s secret hair oil formula. It is a special formula indeed, one that requires knowledge of a special script and much interpretation and tweaking thereafter. When Maalu Paati is invited to a Herbologists’ convention, she must figure out how to keep her formula safe, even as she crosses treacherous waters full of people out to get her.
A delicious combination of hilarity and suspense, The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula has so much to offer to young writers!
Ideas to work with: Plotting, Humour and Character Creation
How do we keep readers engaged through a story? How can we figure out how much is too much? Are there any standard formulas to follow?
None of these questions has foolproof answers, but investigating ideas through the structure of a book like The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula promises to be fulfilling.
Discussing what we find funny is interesting too. While some children thoroughly enjoy silliness and humour, others find it pointless. How can we decide what and how to write?
This book is full of all kinds of crazy, enterprising characters. How do we create vivid characters that stand out?
Writing Activities and Prompts
The point of a workshop is to work together on a piece of writing. Though the scope of this programme is necessarily narrower than that of my writing programme, we will work on small written exercises linked to the book, creating new characters and attempting to flesh them out.
Please do note, however, that the participants will not be given access to the forum to share work and will not be engaging in long written exercises that require detailed feedback and edits.
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Maya in a Mess
It seems to have become something of a tradition to begin each batch of my online reading programme with a hOle book. For the third edition of my programme, it’s going to be Maya in a Mess, a delightful book that made me chuckle. Peopled with sparkling characters, this book is ideal for ages seven and eight, so how could I not include it in my programme?
Maya is the cupboard monitor. The proudest moment of her life is when she is entrusted with the key to the class cupboard. The pride! The honour! The triumph!
I remember the moment oh-so-clearly, and how could I not feel what Maya feels?
Now, you can imagine what the mess is, can’t you?
Discussion
Responsibility is serious business! What was the greatest thing you were entrusted with? What do you do when you make a mistake? How do you think people would react if you lost something precious?
Activity
What makes a reading programme different from independent reading? The things we do together!
For Maya in a Mess, I hope to do an activity where the children try to keep something safe. This requires a little work, but there’s so much we can do with the idea! I will ask them to pick up a pebble, paint it and send me a picture. During the very last class at the end of six weeks, I wonder how many of them will be able to show me their pebbles.
Word Play
Maya in a Mess
Love Like That
Puppies in the Pantry
Timmi in Tangles
What other alliterative phrases would make good book titles?
Playing with sounds is always fun. I hope to make children come up with a book title and create a book cover for their unwritten story.
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Past the Halfway Mark
Four books in six weeks – that’s what my current online reading programme involves. And just like that, four weeks have gone by. If I make participants reflect on their journeys with me, I suppose it is because I enjoy the process of reflection myself. Each time I look back, I find myself nodding slowly at some new learning, some new revelation.
Now, at just past the halfway mark, I can’t stop thinking about reading tastes and how much they differ.
“I’m a cheetah reader,” a child said proudly, referring to our second book, Hungry to Read.
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
“I’m a Bull!” said another.
Where I thought children would resent being categorized into ‘cheetah’, ‘bull’ and ‘snail’, they loved the idea!
With Amelia Bedelia, I rediscovered how enjoyable learning can be. I usually dislike linking reading with learning – it’s done too often and puts children (and me!) off.
But with wordplay, when children learn something new, the pleasure they get from reading increases. As we encountered a wild-goose chase, a piece of cake and a pink slip, we explored the madness of words and what they can mean.
“Do you know every single idiom?” a child asked me.
When I shook my head, he asked, “Then how do you know all these?”
Honestly? I don’t know. Probably because I read and love words. The joy of reading with children lies in watching their faces light up as they understand more idioms, make links and discover humour.
In the past four weeks, we’ve made book covers, created recipes and written poems and book reviews. Two weeks to go, and then a break before the next edition begins!
Workshops Launching in April 2021
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR ALL THESE PROGRAMMES.
The next reading programmes begin in the first week of June, and the next writing programmes will be held in October. I will also organise three short guest sessions as part of my writing programme. These will be free for those who are part of the programme, but will also be open to non-participants on payment of a fee. More details coming soon!
If you would like to receive email notifications about my workshops, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Online Reading Programme
Many parents with children in the age-group 7-8 expressed interest in my writing programmes, which made me think about what I could do with such young children. For a writing programme to be meaningful, I feel that children need to be a little older. At the same time, the wider the range of books they are exposed to, the better they will write. Among other things, this made me come up with the online reading programme – a book club that involves reading, writing and all kinds of activities.
Starting April 2021, I will also be conducting a similar programme for older children – children in the age-group 9-10.
Ages 7-8
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
The third edition of my online reading programme for ages 7-8 begins on the 2nd of April 2021. The four books we will read together are Maya in a Mess by Meera Nair, Spellbound by Nalini Sorensen, The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries Book 1) by Ron Roy and Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami.
Details
Dates: 2nd April to 11th May 2021
Online interactions: Tuesdays and Fridays, 3-3:45pm
Age-group: 7-8 years
Workshop fee: ₹4,000
Do note that the cost of the books is no longer included in the fee (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – contact me for details)
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PROGRAMME.
If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Earlier Programmes
Ages 9-10
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
The first edition of my online reading programme for ages 9-10 is here! Just like for the younger ones, the programme is six weeks long and involves 12 video interactions. However, instead of reading four books together, we will read just three. This is because one session every two weeks will be devoted to exercises that introduce creative writing, closely linked to the books we read.
The books we will read during this edition of the online reading programme are The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula by Asha Nehemiah, Flying with Grandpa by Madhuri Kamat and Wisha Wozzariter by Payal Kapadia.
Details
Dates: 2nd April to 11th May 2021
Online interactions: Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-4:45pm
Age-group: 9-10 years
Workshop fee: ₹5,000
Do note that the cost of the books is no longer included in the fee (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – contact me for details)
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PROGRAMME.
If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Online Creative Writing Programmes
My online creative writing programmes are conducted just twice a year – in April and in October. Each course is 12 weeks long and comprises twelve online interactions and access to a private, secure forum, where participants share work and provide feedback to one another. In this sense, it is an intensive programme that requires participants to log in at least four times a week, write regularly and participate actively on the forum. In addition to weekly assignments, participants are encouraged to share relevant ideas and opinions at each stage.
If I have a minimum of four participants for each batch, I also organize guest sessions, which are open to non-participants on payment of a registration fee, but free for those who are part of my programmes. Take a look at the three guest sessions I organized during the previous edition of the creative writing programme:
Ages 9-11
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
The next course for the age-group 9-11 begins on the 5th of April. The online interactions will be held each Monday from 4pm to 5pm.
Outline
- Experiments with poetry – While we will begin with rhyming verse, we will move on to exploring different kinds of poetry, working with form, content and structure
- Plays – Working with drama is a wonderful way to start working on crisp dialogue and clear setting. We will read a play and look at the creation of characters and dialogue
- Stories – The best way to write a good story is to write many stories! We will work with technique, structure, dialogue and plotting as we explore different genres of writing.
Details
Dates: 5th April to 28th June 2021
Online interactions: Mondays, 4-5pm
Age-group: 9-11 years
Workshop fee:
- Early bird fee: ₹13,500 per head (valid until the 15th of March)
- Buddy fee: Register with one or more friends and pay ₹12,500 per head
- Regular fee: ₹15,000 (16th of March onwards)
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PROGRAMME.
If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Earlier Editions
I launched my online creative writing programme in October 2020 and received a wonderful response. Take a look at what some of the children said when they reflected on the programme!
Ages 12-14
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
The next course for the age-group 12-14 begins on the 7th of April. The online interactions will be held each Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm.
Outline
- Poetry – What makes a poem a poem? We’ll choose a few kinds of poetry and work with them in an attempt to open up our understanding of poetry.
- Plays – A quick look at the history of drama is a great way to explore how art is used as entertainment. What goes into writing for theatre? How would this be different from the way we write for screen?
- Stories – Activities around writing keep young (and not-so-young) writers inspired and excited. As we explore genres of fiction, we will work on both mentor-led and learner-led activities to work actively on structure, technique, characters and plot.
Details
Dates: 7th April to 30th June 2021
Online interactions: Wednesdays, 4-5pm
Age-group: 12-14 years
Workshop fee:
- Early bird fee: ₹13,500 per head (valid until the 15th of March)
- Buddy fee: Register with one or more friends and pay ₹12,500 per head
- Regular fee: ₹15,000 (16th of March onwards)
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PROGRAMME.
If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Writing Workshops I've Conducted in the Past
I’ve been conducting writers’ clubs since 2015, so exploring the Workshops page would give you a gist of the activities I conduct. During the previous edition of the online creative writing programme, a few participants reflected on their journeys as writers. Take a look.
Additionally, here are a few posts that will give you a rough idea of how my creative writing workshops work:
Online Reading Programme – Looking Back
Magic potions.
Superpowers. Word games.
Adjectives, homophones, homonyms, mazes.
Codes, recitation, performance.
What fun my first reading programme was!
The first book we read together was Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah. A reading programme involves more than simply reading the book, though, so we used our imaginations. What would we get if we put different ingredients together? A medicine? A magic potion? An explosion?
Each of the children came up with something different, and it was such fun! Take a look at just one of them.
Our second book was Shrinking Vanita by Manjula Padmanabhan. Apart from word games, where we attempted to unscramble words from the book, we created our own superheroes. What if everyone suddenly shrinks to half their size? What superpower would you need to save the world?
And on the other hand, what if you could stretch your body infinitely? What special things could you do to help other people?
Our third book was The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith, a childhood favourite. Babe the sheep-pig has to follow a specific set of instructions in order to win the sheep-dog trials. Reading and following instructions, the children followed a path too, determining how a dog would herd the sheep to their pen.
We also worked with adjectives. How would you describe Babe? What characteristics come to mind when you think of the sheep-pig?
The last book we worked with was Manya Learns to Roar. This was the book where we had the most interaction, as children deciphered the code at the beginning of each chapter. They wrote their names in code and figured out the notes inside the book. We had such fun!
Instead of a ‘come as a character’ activity, I had each of them recite a poem. One child did such a lovely, dramatic recitation of ‘I opened a book’ by Julia Donaldson. I loved another child’s performance too, but I cannot remember much of the poem except that it was a lot like ‘Sick’ by Shel Silverstein.
And that’s the end of my first reading programme; watch out for the next one!
Amelia Bedelia Means Business
Amelia Bedelia. The name just asks you to read it aloud. And what a character Amelia is! As with the very best fictional characters (I’m thinking of Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstocking and the like), Amelia’s personality leaps out of the pages. She makes you chuckle at her sheer optimism, at her zest and her drive. Obstacles? What are those?
Amelia sees Suzanne’s new bike and knows she has to get one for herself. But her parents are unwilling to give her an advance Christmas-cum-birthday present. What they are willing to do, however, is meet her halfway. If she can find a way to pay half the price, they’ll pay the other half. Amelia and her father shake hands, and they have a deal.
The problem, though, is Amelia’s tendency to take things literally. Idioms are puzzling. Ways of speaking make no sense. So, when she’s working at a restaurant and a customer asks her for ‘a pie – and step on it’, what do you think she does?
I know that Amelia Bedelia Means Business is probably a little advanced for some children in this age group, but it’s so much fun that I’m sure we’ll enjoy it anyway! Here’s what I will do with it at my reading programme.
Idioms
I’ve done workshops on idioms before, but I now know that Amelia Bedelia Means Business is the perfect book to use even in the future to play with idioms. What do we mean by the following?
- I’ll meet you halfway.
- A lemon
- A pink slip
- A piece of cake
- Easy as pie
I’m sure discussing these will lead to hilarious exchanges!
Business Ideas
Children always have wonderful business ideas. How can they earn money? What would they do with money that they earn? Do they have a piggy bank? I think we can have so many intriguing conversations about money making!
Discussion
What do we do when we make a mistake? How frightening is failure? Amelia is one resilient character. She makes mistake after mistake and bounces back each time. A book like this creates a safe space for children to talk about their failures and mistakes, and what they did to move on.
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Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. Find out about the next one here.
If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Hungry to Read
If there was one thing that could push you to read, what would that be? How would you get someone who doesn’t like reading to read?
When Arjun’s teacher announces a competition in school, Arjun is thrilled – until he learns that it is a reading competition. He is no reader; he likes logic, facts and all things mathematical. The problem is that the prize is so attractive that Arjun is tempted. The question, though, is how far he is willing to go to help his class to win.
The reasons I chose Hungry to Read for my reading programme are very different from the reasons I chose every other book. More than having enjoyed the book, I love the possibilities it has when it comes to activities and conversations. Here is some of what I will do with the book.
Scavenger hunt
I love book scavenger hunts! We’ll do a quick one with this book, simply to start a conversation on the different kinds of books we read.
Book discussion
Some conversations need to happen time and time again if ever we want to move away from ideas of ‘girlie’ and ‘bad English’. Why does Arjun find a book about a princess too girlie? Why does Sheen get angry with Rio’s lack of fluency?
Language shaming is something I’ve written about in the past, and it finds its worst form when it comes to a language like English. Language shaming leaves deep impressions on children, and this is something I want children to think about. Gender stereotyping is something I have trouble with in books too, and I want conversations to happen around what constitutes ‘girlie’ and what is ‘boyish’. How much will seven- and eight-year-olds contribute to a conversation like this? I can only begin the conversation and find out!
How to pick a book
A book about a Read Drive is a wonderful way to introduce children to how to choose books. During the reading challenges at the British Library, I often found children picking the thinnest possible books so that they could easily get done with their quota of six books in six weeks. Other children, seeking to impress their teachers, chose the thickest book, paying no attention to whether it seemed interesting to them.
How do we choose a book? How can we pick something suited to our age, understanding and interest? I will use Hungry to Read to talk about it!
Join my online reading programme
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Lucky Girl
Lucky Girl is a hilarious book. It’s imaginative, wacky and full of surprises. Sumi is a lucky girl. With her pink bed, a window that overlooks the sea, soft toys and a chef for a mother, she must be a lucky girl, right?
Wrong.
As I chuckled my way through this hOle book written by Shabnam Minwalla and illustrated by Tanvi Bhat, I knew I had to work with it at my reading programme! Here are a few things I plan to do with the book.
Funny recipes
Pammi Gupta makes pumpkin peel muffins and furry leaf parathas for Sumi. Yuck! What kinds of things would you put together to make an imaginative meal? Would you eat the things you can see on the cover of the book? Once you know what the ingredients are, would you still eat them?
Poetry
Sumi takes part in a poetry writing competition organised by Fab Foods. Her friend Priya wants to write one kind of poem while she wants to write another kind. Can you write a short poem about some food that you like?
What’s in a name?
Depending on what recipe book Pammi Gupta is writing, she calls her daughter Sumangali something else.
Baby Dim Sum. Sumacaroni. Sushi.
I’m waiting for the children to play with their own names and come up with new and funny name extensions!
Join my online reading programme
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Online Reading Programme – Second Edition!
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme.
I was just about halfway through my first reading programme when parents started reaching out to me to check if there will be other batches. Even when I launched the first one, I knew I would continue the programme if enough people expressed interest. And so, here it is – the second edition of my online reading programme!
What does a reading programme involve?
Essentially, reading.
As there are four books spread across 12 sessions, we take roughly three sessions per book. Naturally, this means that we do not read the entire book together. We read excerpts from the books together during each session, and then the children read in their own time before the following class. During each online interaction, we do not just read; we also imagine, create, play and talk. We do activities around the books and try to think about what will happen next. We review books, discussing which ones we like more and why.
Which books will we be working with?
This time, the four books I’m going to work with are:
- Lucky Girl – Shabnam Minwalla
- Amelia Bedelia Means Business – Herman Parish
- Hungry to Read – Arti Sonthalia
- Friends Behind Walls – Harshikaa Udasi
You could also take a look at the last four books we worked with – Trouble with Magic, Shrinking Vanita, The Sheep-Pig and Manya Learns to Roar.
Details
The details are all in the image above, but here they are once more.
Dates: 2nd February to 12th March 2021
Online interactions: Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-4:45pm
Age-group: 7-8 years
Workshop fee: ₹3,500 (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – contact me for details)
Important note: The books are included in the fee only if you register before the 25th of January. This is because I source books from independent bookstores close to you, as far as possible. This is both to support local bookstores and to save the environment by reducing the carbon footprint created by shipping books across the country when they’re available at the store next door!
Physical copies will be delivered anywhere in India.
My phone number is in the poster; please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. And no, I don’t use WhatsApp.
Edited to add: Do note that the books are no longer included in the fee of ₹3,500. If you would like me to organize the books for you anyway, please get in touch.
How to register
My Year in Workshops – 2020
2020 was a tough year, such a tough year that it’s become rather redundant to say it. Many of us had to step out of our comfort zones and do things differently.
For me, of course, it was no different. For several years now, workshops have been my prime source of income. I’ve had my writers’ club at St. Mary’s School, teacher training sessions for Ratna Sagar, and the odd workshop here and there with libraries. When my fifth year at the Writers’ Club came to an end in February last year (was it really not even a year ago?), I was all set for a short vacation, before getting to work again. April and June are often busy months at Ratna Sagar. I conduct teacher training sessions all over the country, and so, I usually find myself travelling and working right through these months with few breaks in the middle. In fact, I already had workshops scheduled for May and June, so I was making plans around them, figuring out when to go to Bangalore, thinking about sessions around Sisters at New Dawn and Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells…
And everything came to a grinding halt.
What kept me going?
In the beginning, I think most of us just waited and watched. I didn’t know what to do, so I wrote as much as I could. Just like last year, I found wonderful, supportive online groups, where we shared information and experiences. I listened to writers talking about their journeys and editors discussing the effect of coronavirus on the publishing industry. Children’s writers also got together and did book readings, using the delightful hashtag #ThodaReadingCorona. I did one too, reading out a chapter of Sisters at New Dawn!
Soon, it was time to do more. Physical workshops were (and still are) out of the question, so I needed to move online. The release of Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells at this time was ideal, for I began to conduct online sessions for Scholastic as part of their virtual book fairs. I designed an online model that worked well, and slowly began to navigate all the challenges that surround virtual author interactions.
Often, I felt like I was talking into the void because many children keep their videos off. Yet, the process was rewarding. Thanks to the chat box, I found that children were less inhibited. They could just post their questions without stuttering, stammering or even showing their faces, and this got me thinking.
At school sessions, it is impossible to interact with everyone because of the sheer numbers of children. If I launched something on my own, I could do things differently. I’ve done more workshops than I can count, and I’m familiar with the technological space, so I had two arrows in my quiver already. My husband was more than willing to create a secure online forum for me, where children could share their work and give and receive feedback.
So, in the first week of October, I launched, with great trepidation, my online creative writing programme.
I had so many questions when I set out.
- Would the fee be acceptable to parents? I knew the kind of work I would put in because children would share writing on the forum every day. I had to provide meaningful feedback to each piece submitted.
- Would children stay engaged online when everything is now online?
- Would the forum appeal to children who are so familiar with online social interactions anyway?
- Would internet snags and technological problems keep cropping up?
Yet, I launched it. And I love it.
The stories, the poetry, the fun – nothing changes in the online model. It’s just as exciting as my writers’ club. In fact, I would say it’s more exciting because I have children from all over the country, and one child from another country too! Over and over again, I come across wonderful pieces of writing. Look at these, for instance!
As the writing programme went on, I began to notice how many parents with children in the age-group 7-8 wanted a creative writing course for their children. However, working online with children in that age bracket would be so challenging as to become meaningless. Yet, this got me thinking. I wouldn’t be a writer today if I hadn’t spent my childhood surrounded by books. I’ve also worked with the reading challenge at the British Library for several years and thought about all the things I would do differently. And so, I launched yet another programme – my online reading programme. I also decided to tie up with independent bookstores for it, and I’m so glad I did!
2021 promises to be full of activities. I’m not hopeful about offline workshops in the near future, but the online model is delightful, at least for me!
Look out for all workshop announcements on my blog, or on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). To receive information about my reading and writing programmes via email, please fill this form.
Creating Memorable Characters with Sophie
And just like that, the third and last guest session for the current batches of my online writing programme is over. It doesn’t feel like very long ago that I announced the programme, wondering whether there would be enough participants. I did not promise guest sessions because I knew it would depend on the response I received. It needed to be feasible to invite guest speakers, both in terms of the number of participants and in terms of my ability to pay the speakers. But here we go, two batches for two age groups are nearly over!
Sophie’s writing workshop was my third guest session, and it was lovely. Sessions where I learn something about methodology are always extra special. For instance, Sophie worked with excerpts from the classics, something I’ve never imagined doing. She chose tiny sections from Persuasion, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Lord of the Rings and Boy, amongst others, and she invited the participants to pay attention to the technique employed before putting it into practice themselves.
Importantly for me, she worked with representation and the problem with stereotypes. Whose voice gets heard in stories? How often do we write about someone from a different faith? Are disabled characters represented in literature? Are we guilty of using stereotypes when we describe our characters?
Especially with so many children consistently writing about white characters in Europe and America, I loved that she led a discussion about stories set in contexts that we know and the importance of researching contexts we don’t.
I’m already excited about the next batches of my creative writing programme, scheduled to launch in April! A few quick links:
- Find out more about the programme, the fee structure and the outline.
- Receive email notifications about upcoming reading and writing workshops.
- Read about the first guest session with Nalini Sorensen.
- Read about the second guest session with Dr. Sreeja Nag.
- Read excerpts of what participants have to say about the writing programme – reflection one and reflection two.
Workshop Anecdotes
So many little things happen during workshops! That’s what makes them so much fun.
For instance, my reading programme began on Tuesday and I started with Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble with Magic. We spoke about all the wonderful things we’d invent because, in some ways, science and magic are pretty much the same thing.
One child would invent a door. You step through the door and get to whatever place you want to go. You just have to tell the door where you’d like to be.
“And what trouble could you have with magic of this sort?” I asked.
The boy thought for a bit. “If you don’t speak clearly,” he said, very clearly. “You could end up in the wrong place.”
Another child invented this – a vacation machine! Do notice how machine is spelt. Also, I love that the key words are there. No more and no less!
At my writing programme yesterday, I had more fun. The children here are older and I wanted to start a conversation about how we choose names for our characters. I asked them to come up with a nickname for each of the others – including me, if they wanted. I’ve done this activity before and many children are often shy about giving me a nickname. But yesterday was all kinds of delightful.
One girl named me ‘Funsha’. She wanted to use my real name as the root and couple it with a characteristic she associates with me. Isn’t that just lovely?
There’s another girl called Vrinda in the batch, whom she renamed ‘Vrintresting’ because, well, she’s very interesting.
Another girl named me Mia.
After a horse.
She reddened as soon as she realised how that sounds, but quickly explained, “I go horse riding and I love that horse! She’s friendly, calm, patient and just … she reminds me of you!”
I’ve never been named after a horse before, and I certainly never expected to feel so delighted about it!
Creating Memorable Characters
Both batches of my online creative writing programme began in October. Two months out of three have flown by, and I can’t quite believe that I’ve had eight sessions with each batch. We’ve had two wonderful guest sessions too – one with author Nalini Sorensen and one with Dr. Sreeja Nag. It’s time to announce my third and last guest session for this batch, with a multicultural writer-friend, Sophie Gaden.
About the Facilitator
Sophie is a French-Brazilian writer, teacher, and translator. She spent her childhood in Brazil, but at the age of 12, she moved to India where she lived for eight years. As if three countries with three different cultures weren’t enough, she took another step across the world and graduated in English Literature and Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She is now based in London, writing poetry, translating, and teaching English at a secondary school. She is also a poetry translator at the Atelier do Centro in Sao Paulo.
Creating Memorable Characters
What are characters, really? Mysterious beings, figments of our imagination.
How do writers create characters? Why are some characters so memorable? What makes them unique?
Sophie will also be dealing with representation, addressing the need to be more inclusive in our stories. We’ll discuss ideas and explore techniques and activities that will help us imagine and create characters that stay with us long after we close the book.
Details
| Fee | ₹400 per head (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – please contact me for my bank details; my number is in the poster) |
| Age-group | 9-13 |
| Date | 19th December 2020 |
| Time | 4 pm to 5 pm IST |
How to register
This is a free event for all those who have registered for my online creative writing programme. Non participants may join this standalone workshop on payment of the registration fee of ₹400.
This workshop was held on the 19th of December. To be intimated about forthcoming workshops programmes in advance, please fill this form or follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Science Stories with Sreeja
What a whirlwind weekend I’ve had! With the Scholastic Writing Awards ceremony, a guest session at my online creative writing programme, and a weekend workshop for the ten winners of the Scholastic Writing Awards, the weekend has flown by in the best possible way!
As with every guest session, yesterday was special. I’ve invited Sreeja before and I know how exciting conversations with her can be for a group of curious young writers. She’s exciting, warm and generous with her interactions, never dismissing a question or an idea out of hand. For instance, there was a moment yesterday when a child asked her, “Could there be mermaids on some other planet?”
Sreeja paused and then responded, “Why not?”
Sreeja is a scientist at NASA and also leads a team at a start-up that is building and deploying what could be the first self-driving robotic fleet on public roads. She has a PhD in Space Systems Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge and studies space systems, space robotics for Earth observation, space traffic management, and vehicular robotics validation. That’s about as exciting as it gets for children interested in space stories.
Watching her interact with the creative writing students yesterday was wonderful. I enjoyed her session as much as – if not more than – the children.
As always, I was also struck by all the questions she was asked. Here are a few:
- Does NASA hire artists?
- How do astronauts sleep in space?
- How do they train to sleep in space?
- Don’t astronauts get bored of their jobs?
- Do you think a planet with huge oceans could have enormous creatures?
- Do astronauts ever argue when they’re on space missions?
- How do you get network at the International Space Station?
Guest sessions bring magic to the programme, and a NASA scientist? That’s all kinds of special.
The Sheep-Pig
A few months ago, one of my publishers, Mango Books, began a series of posts on social media about books authors read when they were young. The book I chose was The Sheep-Pig, a delightful chapter book by a favourite writer, Dick King-Smith.
Dick King-Smith’s stories are a treat. I loved The Sheep-Pig, the sequel Ace and so many more – Saddlebottom, A Mouse Called Wolf, The Hodgeheg … Every time I went to the library, I would look out for his books, hoping to discover at least one more book I hadn’t read.
Why is this book part of my reading programme?
Obviously, the first reason is that I love it. Here’s what I said to Mango Books about it.
“The Sheep-Pig is a delightful story, and I’m so glad I read it as a child! The book left me with the feeling that anything is possible. More than that, I loved the idea that kindness and courtesy can help you achieve anything. The Sheep-Pig shatters all stereotypes about pigs being dirty, greedy and stupid because the protagonist Babe is the perfect pig – clean, unfailingly polite and utterly charming. The story stayed with me because of its gentleness, its humour and its wonderful portrayal of friendship–all of which I hope find their way into my writing too!”
Discussion
From the importance of being polite to ideas of stereotypes, daring to be different and following instructions, The Sheep-Pig can spark all kinds of conversations. Why does Babe succeed where others fail? How do people see you? Do you fit in with their ideas? The Sheep-Pig is a wonderful text to work with when it comes to a range of subjects!
Puzzles
Many children find reading boring because there’s nothing to do. Mazes and puzzles help them to keep their minds active as they figure out best possible routes, and The Sheep-Pig, with its trail routes and shepherding storyline is perfect for more than one quick activity on problem solving.
Word games
Babe gets confused by the word ‘ewe’. He wonders what the sheep Ma means when she says ‘I am you’. Homophones can be confusing, but playing with them is fun! I’m waiting to work with rhymes, homophones and more at the reading programme.
A little about the book
Why can’t I learn to be a sheep-pig?
Babe, The Sheep-Pig
Mr Hogget wins a piglet at a fair, but he’s never had pigs before. His sheep-dog, Fly, takes the piglet under her wing and like all children, the piglet begins to imitate the closest adult. It so happens that the closest adult is not a pig, but a sheep-dog. Why should that stand in the way? If the piglet’s adoptive mum can be a sheep-dog, why can’t the little one be a sheep-pig?
The Sheep-Pig is an award-winning book by a beloved author, well worth a read, a re-read and then a few more re-reads after that.
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. If you would like to receive email notifications when I launch new batches, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Shrinking Vanita
Shrinking Vanita is a delightful read, full of laughter, madness and the unshakeable belief that children can and will save the world! With a little help, of course. From a puppy called Giggles and a bag full of fridge magnets.
Three days to go before a gigantic killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone is in a panic. Everyone, that is, but Vanita, who has things to do. Such as saving the planet.
– from the blurb of Shrinking Vanita
Isn’t that a wonderful premise? Shrinking Vanita delivers what it promises – a feisty protagonist, a mixture of science and madness and a joyous aha! moment.
Oh, and the book won the Peek a Book children’s choice award, so it’s child-approved.
Like every other book we’ve read at my book club, I chose this one because it’s full of possibility!
What if?
I love doing activities around the question ‘what if?’ What if you knew the earth would be destroyed in three days? What if you had a superpower? What if you could get your own way by telling a lie? These are all wonderful conversation starters and I can’t wait to hear what children come up with!
Superheroes
What powers would you like to have if you were a superhero? What powers do we need to solve specific problems? And what problems would you be able to solve with superpowers?
This activity serves as a rudimentary creative writing exercise too, an introduction to the idea that all stories must have a problem and a solution!
Kinaesthetic learning
I love books that provide the scope to roam around and do something else before returning to the screen, and I have so many ideas of what to do with Shrinking Vanita. They can talk about magnets they have, explore space-related objects, and
Join my book club!
Registrations are now closed for this programme. New batches begin every alternate month. Join my mailing list if you would like to receive email notifications about my programmes. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook and Instagram – for regular updates.
Reflections – Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the first series of reflections, written by children from my first batch of the creative writing programme. The idea of a reflective statement is something that I came to appreciate when I was teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While I was teaching, however, many students hated writing reflections because they had to write them. The checkbox needed to be ticked for the IB. Now, on the other hand, I find that most children enjoy taking this time out to think about how far they have come and how much they have learnt.
It’s a moment I enjoy too. Take a look at some of the work they’ve put together! All this is shared with their permission, of course!
This was a guided writing activity, inspired by a poem I read by Ken Nesbitt. Guided writing of this sort is something I especially enjoy facilitating at workshops because the results are always rewarding!
In Shreya’s poem, I was, first, drawn to the title. Of course the poem isn’t perfect, but there are so many lines I love! My favourites are probably ‘Fences act like keys’ and ‘Abuse isn’t in the dictionary’.
She was one of those who shared a story after Nalini Sorensen’s workshop, and, as Nalini said, I’m sure that someday soon, I’ll read a book with Shreya’s name on it as author!
This is just one of the list poems we wrote during the course because list poetry in its various forms is always fun. Reading and writing go together, so we begin by reading a handful of poems. I use one set of poems with adults and a whole different set with children. Of late, I’ve also been trying to do all the written assignments I set for the children I interact with, and it’s a wonderful experience! I enjoy the structure, the discipline and the sense of achievement I get when I finish what I set out to write.
Before we came to list poetry, we worked with narrative poetry and here’s one that made me chuckle! On the right is a snippet from Tanisha’s reflection. The ‘poetry phase’, as she calls it, is over. I’m waiting to read their stories!
I’ve really enjoyed this poetry phase! I’ve been introduced to so many different forms of poetry.
I’ve learned a lot more about meter and how important it can be in a poem. I’ve been introduced to the entirely new world of non- rhyming poetry, and surprisingly, I quite like it! I’ve learned about so many poetry forms that I had no idea existed, and I’m going to try writing poetry more often.
My favourite activity – I’m not sure about this one. There are so many I enjoyed! But if I have to choose, I think that I’ll say the Cinqains, List poetry and the “I come from a land where…” poem.
Honestly, I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like. Everything was a learning experience- what’s not to like?
Tanisha
Online Creative Writing Programme 2020-21
A Few More Writing Activities
A few days ago, I posted five writing activities that I created last month; here are a few more. I find that short activities of this sort are wonderful ways both to get started and to wind down. Finishing a workshop with some sort of activity leaves participants feeling energized, rather than exhausted. Quick ones of this sort are always handy!
Humorous Hyperboles
Children are masters of hyperbole. Think about the way they tell stories and how, with each telling, the story becomes grander and more eventful. Adults do it too, even if they pretend otherwise!
So, naturally, working with hyperboles is always hilarious. Here are two more hyperbole ideas that work well:
- How would you describe the most boring class you’ve ever had?
- Who has the loudest voice in your class? How loud is her voice? No, don’t imitate it! Describe it.
Fun with Homophones and Homographs
Homophones and homographs go together. I don’t remember ever having studied homographs in school; I read up about them later. Some sources say that homonyms and homographs are the same. Others say that homonyms are homographs that are also homophones. For instance, ‘minute’ and ‘minute’ are homographs, but not homonyms because the words are pronounced differently depending on what we mean.
Before going into class, check that you have your sources handy because even with a light, fun activity, children will ask questions!
Interesting Interviews
I enjoy setting up a session where workshop participants interview one another, or even me. During creative writing workshops, this also lays the groundwork for character creation because I ask participants to ‘interview’ their characters so that they work on fleshing them out.
Interviews also make for good ice-breakers. During reading workshops, we sometimes begin with children putting together a set of questions about books to ask one another. Often, the questions they come up with are as interesting – if not more interesting – than the answers!
Five Writing Activities for Children (and Adults!)
As I was preparing to launch my online creative writing programme, I posted one writing activity per day on social media, and I loved the responses I received.
Writing activities can be so much fun, and not just for children. They work just as well for adults who want to sit down and start writing too! Here are the first five; you could do one a day for the next five days to get you started.
Surprising Similes
This one is always a favourite!
During a creative writing session, I asked a child to complete the simile as annoying as ____
“As annoying as my sister,” she replied.
I know that this child has a brother and a sister, so I asked, chuckling, “Is your sister more annoying than your brother?”
There was a small pause as she looked up. He was, possibly, in the room. She gave a tiny smile and said, “No, but it’s his birthday today.”
Have fun with your similes!
Funny Fairytales
We used this one recently too, and just by accident! I invited Nalini Sorensen to conduct a guest session for my online creative writing programme, and we worked on fairy tales with a twist. The children came up with all kinds of ideas, which I loved!
One rewrote Cinderella’s story as a modern tale. The prince tweeted about a ball at Buckingham Palace, Cinderella went in comfy clothes, but stepped in doggy doo, so she couldn’t be bothered to take her slipper home.
Another rewrote Snow White’s story from the mirror’s point of view.
I’m still waiting to read the rest!
Alliteration Activity
Tongue twisters are a fun way to work with alliteration, and I’ve used tongue twisters during more workshops than I can count.
I remember a session I attended with Craig Smith at the AFCC, where he spoke about how tongue twisters make us laugh for no real reason. His The Wonky Donkey is a classic example of one of those – you can’t help chuckling at the stinky, cranky, honky-tonky, winky wonky donkey!
Free Writing
Free writing takes many forms, and during workshops, I work on longer versions of this activity, pushing participants to create humour and not overthink their ideas.
Editing while we write can be crippling. I know that from experience too! I keep trying to make my first sentence perfect, and then it moves on to the first paragraph and then the first chapter. More often than not, all that work is wasted because as the book goes on, the chapter needs to be rewritten from scratch.
Free writing exercises are a step towards letting go of our writing and moving on!
Magical Mirror
During a creative writing masterclass conducted by Prof Bill Herbert, we did a wonderful activity that remains crystal clear in my memory, even though I attended the class five years ago. Prof Herbert asked us to imagine a portal, any sort of portal.
This is an activity I use often during creative writing workshops where many children enjoy writing fantasy. What could your portal be? What would take you from this world to another?
I’m always astounded at the number of mirrors I encounter during these workshops. Mirrors are a kind of magic, aren’t they? Or at least, we’re determined to make them so!
A colleague once told me, only half joking, art is 99% robbery. That’s true about workshops and training sessions too! Feel free to rob these ideas and use them as you will. Download the images or copy them out to use in class, for yourself, or with children who want to write!
To find out about reading and writing workshops I conduct, follow me on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), or fill this form.
Stories of Space Robots and Rockets
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself thinking – an online writing programme is not a lit fest. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to invite people who would be able to do something entirely new? What could I do to bring in a new kind of story?
And here was my answer:
How can I make my science fiction story believable?
Do we need more stories about women in science?
| Fee | ₹400 per head (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – please contact me for my bank details; my number is in the poster) |
| Age-group | 9-13 |
| Date | 5th December 2020 |
| Time | 10 am to 11 am IST |
About the guest facilitator
Sreeja Nag is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, where she leads a project called D-SHIELD. She is also working on what could be the first self-driving robotic fleet on public roads. Sreeja completed her PhD in Space Systems Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Her research interests include distributed space systems, space robotics for Earth observation, space traffic management, and vehicular robotics validation.
She grew up in Pune, Maharashtra and completed her undergraduate studies in IIT Kharagpur in India before moving to the United States. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
How to register
This is a free event for all those who have registered for my online creative writing programme.
Edit: This event was held on the 5th of December. Look out for all workshop announcements on my blog, or on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). To receive information about my reading and writing programmes via email, please fill this form.
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Guest sessions are full of fun! Yesterday, I went on not one, but several writing journeys with children’s book author Nalini Sorensen. What did I take back from my journeys? Several things, actually!
For one, I love Nalini’s phrase ‘story eyes’.
Just like Nalini, the question I hear most often is ‘where do you get your ideas from?’ Nalini made us close our eyes and imagine an incredible experience. She took us on a journey to the top of Mount Everest, a journey that’s unique, special.
And then, she told use that we didn’t need experiences like that to create stories. All we needed were our story eyes. Look around with story eyes, and even mundane events can become stories.
Already, during my writing programme, children have been concerned about uniqueness. What if we copy someone else’s story by mistake? Will we get into trouble? Isn’t it possible for more than one person to have the same idea?
Even though Nalini didn’t hear these questions, she answered them as she spoke about how perspective matters. Perspective can change everything, and that is what makes your story unique.
This guest session was just the beginning. Follow me on social media to find out about upcoming workshops – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. To receive information about my reading and writing programmes via email, please fill this form.
Online Reading Programme
I’ve been working with the British Library’s reading challenge for a long time. I’ve worked with a range of themes – Circus Stars, Mythical Maze, Record Breakers, The Big Friendly Read, Animal Agents … And I’ve enjoyed each one. I love the range of books the British Library has, and the reading challenge collection is always special. Being a British Council trainer was always a huge advantage during the reading challenge season because I got secret access to all these books that weren’t yet available to regular library customers!
However, as I associated with schools and children at the library, there were two questions that continually stood out to me:
- Don’t we get to keep even one book?
- Why are there no Indian books?
And these are questions I’ve been mulling over for a while, which leads me to announce this online reading programme.
What will we do during the online interactions?
Read, write, draw, colour, think, have fun!
I’ve been conducting reading programmes for eight years now and I promise that they’ll be fun! If I have enough participants, I will also invite guest speakers (more authors!) to talk to the participants.
Why these books?
I took a really long time to choose just four books. The Sheep-Pig is the only one I read when I was this age, and I loved it. I knew I wanted to include a book by Dick King-Smith and to be honest, The Sheep-Pig was not my first choice, not because it isn’t lovely, but because it is the most famous and I wanted something new. I looked at A Mouse Called Wolf and The Merrythought, but it seemed like getting copies would be difficult. So, The Sheep-Pig, a favourite of mine, just eased itself into the list. Take a look at a few things I intend to do with the book!
The hOle books are super fun, and I love Asha Nehemiah’s writing, so Trouble with Magic was a natural choice. Manya Learns to Roar did not take time to choose either because it’s an important book, and I thoroughly enjoy Shruthi Rao’s work.
Finally, especially for this age group, books about saving the world are excellent. Young children are superheroes, and Shrinking Vanita brings in a different genre, while also being the kind of story I wanted to include. Here are some of the book activities we’ll do with this one!
Details
The details are all in the image above, but here they are once more.
Dates: 8th Dec 2020 to 22nd Jan 2021 (25th Dec and 1st Jan will be holidays)
Online interactions: Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-4:45pm
Age-group: 7-8 years
Workshop fee: ₹3,500 (UPI: seshanvarsha@okhdfcbank or bank transfer – contact me for details)
Yes, the books are included in the fee. I will have physical copies delivered to you anywhere in India.
Please register before the 2nd of December so that I can try to get the books to you in time! As far as possible, I source books from the independent bookstore closest to you.
Offers
Everyone loves an offer, right?
Buddy fee – Join with a friend (or friends) and pay ₹3,000 per head.
How to register
Reflections – Part 1
During the course of any creative writing programme I conduct, about two or three times, I ask children to stop and reflect on everything they’ve felt and everything they’ve done during their sessions with me. Now that we’re one month into my online programme, it was time. And as usual, I could not stop smiling when I read their work.
Afreena, 11, listed everything she’s learnt – from acrostic poems to rebuses. She remembered the list poem she wrote, the limericks we read and all the literary devices we worked with. Her reflection was simple, clear and straightforward; I loved it.
Sunandini, 9, did something quite beautiful – she wrote a story! The whole story was a grand metaphor for the creative writing programme and I can quite honestly say that I’ve never read such an original reflection! Here are a few snippets.
A few weeks back, I boarded The Great Grammar Express. I walked to my compartment and opened the sliding-door. Inside, a girl with a green suitcase was settling in. I sat down on the spacious berth opposite to the other girl’s. A lady with short hair got in the compartment and said ‘I am your instructor for this writing journey, Ms. Vanessa’.
I’ve shortened it a bit, but isn’t that just a lovely beginning? The reflection continues in the same vein. Read on!
After a while we stepped out of the train [since it had stopped] for a short walk. We found we were in the limerick lane and actually discussing limericks by Edward Lear. The train then whistled and we rushed to get in. Once settled, we tried our hand at writing a five line limerick. I felt I could have written a better limerick with a second try.
I’m not going to share the whole thing here, but I can quite honestly say I enjoyed reading all of it. Sunandini also shared answers to a few questions I asked to push them to write their reflections. The piece she feels was the best she wrote is one that I admired too.
A little background before I share the poem: we used Shel Silverstein’s Magic to work on strong verbs. I love his teaching resources; they serve as wonderful material for poetry workshops. After reading his poem, I asked the girls to write a poem of their own, which uses eight strong verbs in two sentences – look what Sunandini came up with.
And finally, a reflection like this, from 10-year-old Ruchiranana, always warms my heart. How can I not be happy when a child says there was nothing she didn’t like during five hours with me?
As each session goes by, I’m so glad I ventured into this online creative writing programme. It gives me so much joy!
If you would like to find out more about the programme, please click here, or follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. To receive information about my reading and writing programmes via email, please fill this form.
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Each morning, among the first things I do is visit my creative writing forum. I love it. I love that every day, there are new pieces to read, all shared by young writers who are part of my online creative writing programme. I’ve done four sessions with one batch and three with another; it’s time to bring a little more excitement in – a guest session!
I spoke to author Nalini Sorensen, and we finalized things super quickly. I’m delighted to announce a one-hour writing workshop with this warm, lively, award-winning writer. While the event is free for those who have enrolled for my online programme, it’s open to non-participants too, on payment of a registration fee.
Edit: This event was held on the 19th of November. Look out for all workshop announcements on my blog, or on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). To receive information about my reading and writing programmes via email, please fill this form.
How to Write a Limerick
What is a limerick?
A limerick is a (usually humorous) five-line poem with a strict AABBA rhyme scheme. It’s fun to write and, usually, fun to read. I’ve always loved limericks by Edward Lear, and over the past few years, I’ve read many, many more. Do you remember the nursery rhyme ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’? That was probably the first limerick most of us learned!
Why should I write a limerick?
While I can’t give you an answer to that, I can tell you why I work with limericks so often at creative writing workshops I conduct.
- Limericks are fun.
- Limericks are funny.
- Limericks have a definite structure, which forces us to pay attention to both rhyme and meter. Read more about that here.
- Limericks are short, with no room to wax lyrical.
What do I need to know about limericks?
The best way to understand the form of a limerick is to read dozens – or hundreds – of limericks for yourself. Feel the meter and the rhyme scheme, instead of learning the rules I’ve listed below!
- A limerick has five lines.
- The rhyme scheme of a limerick is AABBA. This means that the first, second and fifth lines rhyme with one another and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.
- The length of the lines also follows the same pattern. The first, second and fifth lines are longer and have three stressed syllables each.
The third and fourth lines are shorter and have two stressed syllables each.
How do I go about it?
As with any other kind of writing, begin with an idea. Perhaps you could write a limerick about yourself!
- The first line should introduce the main character – that’s you!
- The second line should bring humour in. Think about your quirks (strange habits or funny things you do!).
- The third and fourth lines need action. Use good, clear vocabulary.
- The fifth line should not leave the reader hanging. You need a resolution.
Look how I gave it a shot!
I am the main character of my limerick. What odd habits do I have that I can have fun with? What action can I bring in, and how do I finish my limerick with a good punchline?
Here’s one of the limericks I came up with:
What makes a limerick difficult to write?
Lots of things, actually! It took a while for me to realise that I would struggle if I chose to write about more than one character. For me, five lines aren’t enough to do anything meaningful with multiple characters!
The meter of a limerick is challenging too. I had lots and lots of ideas, but with such short, defined lines, it isn’t easy to make the poem work.
I don’t like “adjusting” poems. For me, rhyming verse should be easy to read aloud. Else, it just doesn’t work!
Go on, try a limerick of your own. Share it with me if you’d like to!
Creative Writing with Children
Every time I work with children on creative writing, I realise why I enjoy it so much. Each interaction is full of laughter, fun, and most joyous of all–moments when children finally understand something and it shows on their faces. I’m still elated after yesterday’s online creative writing session!
Since I launched the programme on the 5th of October, I’ve had a regular routine. Early in the morning, I log on to my forum. What will I find? Which of the writers would have contributed something delightful?
One morning, I discovered a letter to be placed in a high technology envelope that could be opened and closed with a button. Another morning, I discovered a list of words that one of the young writers loves – goofy, amazing, surprise … And soon, I will find a set of limericks. I can’t wait to read them!
Yesterday, as usual, my session was full of all kinds of activities. I love exploring ways to keep the children engaged during an online interaction, and I wanted to work with synonyms. I chose the word ‘happy’ to start the conversation and used the white board for the first time, inviting them to work together on a word search puzzle. I had to bite back my smile when I saw the poor white board at the end of the session.
Rhyme, rhythm, meter, homophones, alliteration, tongue twisters, limericks … That’s what we’ve done so far in just two weeks. The next ten weeks promise to be exciting.
And on that note, a reminder: registrations are still open for the age-group 12-14 for the batch that begins on Thursday the 15th of October. Click here for more details. I can’t wait for it to begin!